Other opinions: Do we need a shield law?

Risen case stirs calls to protect journalists

The New York Times

An egregious appeals court ruling on Friday has dealt a major setback to press freedoms by requiring the author of a 2006 book to testify in the criminal trial of a former Central Intelligence Agency official charged with leaking classified information. The ruling and the Justice Department's misplaced zeal in subpoenaing James Risen, the book's author and a reporter for The Times, carry costs for robust journalism and government accountability that should alarm all Americans.

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The Washington Post

The Risen case underscores the need to write into federal law a shield for the news media. Some 49 states and the District have established media shield laws or recognized such privileges in court. A good place to start on the federal level is with legislation recently introduced by Sens. Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Lindsey O. Graham (R-S.C.). While the proposed law would not offer absolute protection, it would introduce a "balancing test" for a court to use before compelling disclosure from a reporter. The test would take into account the public interest in the disclosure and in maintaining the free flow of information. This should restrain overzealous prosecutors from roping journalists into leak prosecutions and sustain the uneasy but essential balance between secrecy and openness.

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The Washington Times

This is not actually a difficult historical question. Self-publishing played a key role in America's independence movement, as pamphlets provided a cheap and convenient means of distributing information to a wide audience. Pamphleteers were the bloggers of their time, often writing anonymously out of fear of reprisal from the British government.

...A shield law "for the media" gives the government the chance to decide who does, and who does not, qualify for this privilege. In that respect, a media shield law represents a diminution of liberty. Free speech is something that belongs to everyone.

- Read more: http://fe.gd/Dkf

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Other opinions: Do we need a shield law?

An egregious appeals court ruling on Friday has dealt a major setback to press freedoms by requiring the author of a 2006 book to testify in the criminal trial of a former Central Intelligence Agency